


We Were Just Kids

by PsychoCalixteLove



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Child AU, Childhood Friends, Cute, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/F, Fluff, Implied/Referenced Self-Harm, Light Angst
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-30
Updated: 2018-01-01
Packaged: 2019-02-24 04:18:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,769
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13205805
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PsychoCalixteLove/pseuds/PsychoCalixteLove
Summary: What started out as an unlikely friendship between Beca Mitchell and her new foreign neighbor, Luisa Meyer became more when they fell for each other. As just mere children, can their love prevail through even life's toughest challenges?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> All sentences in Danish are my own translation.

The sun, reflected off the side of the metal moving truck, blinded Beca as she stared out the window in her living room. There had been rumors amongst the other children that a family was moving in . . . next door to Beca. She always hated neighbors because they were always either too old or too adolescent to play with her because no teenager wanted to play with a nine-year-old. Beca expected this neighbor to be no different than the rest and she slumped back down on the couch with a pouty look on her face. “What’s wrong Beca?” her mother asked, sitting next to her daughter. Beca merely crossed her arms in defiance and looked away without answering. She didn’t want to admit it, but she was tired of not having any friends since everyone else at school made fun of her or simply didn’t talk to her. She thought that if she could have one friend, she’d be alright in her life, but she had a hard time being social. She was too awkward to fit in and she knew that so she spent most of her time playing with her mother, Sarah. Sarah was the one to know her daughter best and, consequently, knew when she was having a hard time. “What is it, sweetie? Do you not like the new neighbors?” Sarah tried, looking at Beca in the face. The small girl nodded her head rigidly and looked at her mother. “I hate how everyone else at school has a friend and I don’t. Why can’t I have a friend, Mom?” she whined, unballing herself.

Sarah whimpered and took the small girl into her arms to hug the life out of the tiny brunette. She kissed the top of the small head in front of her and explained, “It’s okay, baby. Sometimes, making friends take time and your time will come. Who knows? Maybe these new neighbors have a son or daughter around your age for you to play with.” Beca shrugged her shoulders and hugged her mother around the neck. “Thank you, Mom. At least I know I’ll have you forever,” Beca whispered, looking out the window again. The two smiled at each other and shared a small laugh before they heard the doorbell ring. Beca jumped off her mother’s lap and ran to the door. She reached for the lock, but her height failed her and she ended up jumping repeatedly for no reason. Her mother giggled as she stood and unlocked the door, opening to a small family. The mother was tall for her age with long brunette hair and blue eyes. The father was tall as well with blonde hair and brown eyes. Their daughter was not surprisingly tall, though she looked about Beca’s age, and had blonde hair with blue eyes. So, the perfect mixture of both her parents. She looked annoyed like any child who was forced to move and instantly portrayed an intimidating air that slightly terrified Beca.

“Hallo! We just wanted to introduce ourselves. We are your new neighbors, the Meyers,” the father began, looking at Sarah. Sarah, who was honey blonde, shook each of the parents’ hands before inviting the whole family in. The parents' names were Friedrich and Kristen while their daughter was Luisa. They had moved here from Germany, though Kristen was originally from Denmark, and as Friedrich said, just wanted to introduce themselves. Sarah sat down with the parents to talk with them where she found out only Friedrich could speak fluent English while Kristen was trying and they were merely twenty-four years old. After they explained that some Europeans tend to have kids earlier than Americans, Sarah was more understanding of the concept because she did the math and figured out the two were only fifteen when Luisa was conceived. Beca, on the other hand, was left by the door with Luisa. She just awkwardly stood there and looked down at her feet with her fingers laced together behind her back. Luisa scrutinized the smaller girl not because she was overly critical but because she was annoyed with her parents that she had to move to a new country.

“Are you just going to stand there, or are you going to tell me your name?” Luisa asked bitingly, looking incredulously at the other girl. Beca’s head snapped up to Luisa’s and she froze in her place at the sight of the ice blue eyes set in the adorable puffy cheeks. “Uh-um . . . I-I guess. I-I’m Beca,” the brunette stumbled, glancing over Luisa’s outfit. Faux denim polo and black skirt with boots. Surprising. The blonde was already starting to hate this new companion because of the girl’s awkwardness and shyness, but she made that fairly obvious. “I’m Luisa and I suggest you just leave me alone because I don’t think we’ll get along well. You’re too tiny for me to do anything with,” Luisa told off, inherently criticizing Beca. Beca bit the inside of her cheek to prevent herself from crying at Luisa’s harshness because she had never been bullied like this before. Her lack of height had only ever been hinted at by other kids, not expressly tore at so Luisa’s comment really hurt her. Seeing weakness, the blonde stepped forward, angled her head downward, and held Beca’s face in her hands to tell her, “Don’t cry, Maus. At least someone is now telling you.” Single tears ran down Beca’s cheeks as her face reddened in embarrassment. She pulled away from the taller girl and ran upstairs to her room. She slammed the door hard enough to make a loud sound and every adult was concerned. Luisa looked at her parents and shrugged her shoulders like she did nothing wrong.

“I think it is time to leave,” Kristen pointed out, standing up. The Meyers said goodbye and left to go unpack the truck enough for them to sleep that night. Sarah closed the door behind them and heard Beca’s tiny whimpers from above. She went to Beca’s room and knocked before entering. She found Beca face down on her bed with a pillow smashed into her face to muffle her sounds of crying. “Beca, baby? What happened?” the mother asked, sitting down on the edge of the bed. She had taught Beca that communication was the key to healthy relationships, which was why she often talked to her daughter about problems that were bothering the small child. Beca rolled over and looked at her mother. “I hate her! I hate, Luisa! She’s a jerk and a big meanie!” Beca wailed, looking away once again. The honey blonde awed at the failed initial friendship and told Beca, “Maybe she is just mad that she had to move away from Germany. I remember how mad you were when we moved away from North Carolina. So, just give her some time. You never know, she may just like you and be too scared to admit it.” The brunette took in the information and wiped her face off of the tears before accepting the facts and sighing, “Okay, Mom. I just . . . I just want a friend and I don’t know how to make them.”

Sarah sighed as well and hugged her daughter. “I know, sweetheart. I know.”

********

“Luisa Birgitte Meyer! Go over and play with her!” Friedrich shouted, scolding his daughter. Luisa refused to go over to Beca’s house and play with her simply because she didn’t like the other girl and she was getting reprimanded for it. “But Papa!” she griped, stamping her feet. They have lived in this neighborhood for a little over a week and Luisa still hadn’t made any friends yet. Her father was tired of her complaining that she’d rather be back in Germany and needed her to get out of the house so she didn’t become antisocial. “No, Luisa! Go over and play right now!” he yelled, pointing dramatically to the Mitchell house. Kristen saw the struggle between the two and intervened. “Friedrich, stop! Hun behøver ikke at lege med Beca hvis hun ønsker ikke.” At this, her husband backed off and went back to the garage to unpack some more. Kristen kneeled in front of her daughter, took the girl’s hands in hers, and asked, “Hvorfor ønsker du ikke at lege med Beca?” Luisa huffed out a breath and told her mother, “Because I don’t like her, Mama. She’s not my type of friend.” Kristen understood what her daughter was saying, both literally and figuratively, and thought of a solution. She looked her daughter in the face and proposed, “Jeg vil tale dig hvad. Du går og leger med Beca og jeg vil tage dig ude for nogle silk.”

The child’s face lit up at the promise of candy and she jumped up, asking, “Kan det være chokolade?”

“Ja, min søde.” Luisa hugged her mother and then ran out the front door to Beca’s house. She ran across the yard and hopped onto the porch with excitement. The doorbell rang about six times from over-excitement before Sarah opened it. “Hello! Where is Beca?”

“She’s in her room—Alright then!” Luisa pushed past the adult and ran upstairs to Beca’s room. She didn’t even knock as she opened the door viciously and tripped over a cord. She landed with a thud that made Beca turn to attention. The girl was working at a small computer with a keyboard next to it and earbuds in. She was working on a short mix since she had nothing else to do. Luisa hurriedly stood up and said, “Hey, Maus! What are you doing?” Beca paused the loop she was on and turned around to face Luisa. Her previous feelings about the blonde had barely changed while the blonde’s feelings were forcefully changed by the power of chocolate. “What do you want, German Jerk?” the brunette commented, actually getting an insult in. Luisa was surprised by the sudden feistiness of her companion and her thoughts truthfully began to change.

“I should start calling you Feisty Maus.” Beca rolled her eyes at Luisa’s observation and went back to what she was doing without answering the blonde’s original question. She replayed what she had before pausing and editing a section she thought didn’t work with everything else. Luisa heard the remnants of music coming from Beca’s earbuds, though she had no idea what it could’ve been. She walked up behind Beca, glanced at the screen, and saw she was on a music editor. She sat down next to the brunette but didn’t look at the screen. She stared at Beca and the look in her eyes as she worked on the music. She saw something she had never seen before. The complete interest and full focus the small girl had on her work was astonishing and further changed Luisa’s mindset. Curiosity overtook her and she tapped Beca’s shoulder, which made her jump. “Can I listen?” the blonde inquired, motioning to the mix Beca was listening to. The brunette removed her earbuds from her ears and the computer while she explained, “Sure, I don’t know why though. It’s not any good.” Turning up the volume, Beca played the loop of a few guitar cords she had her mother play, a piano part she herself recorded, and a steady beat created from the DJ mode of the keyboard. It was simple, but Luisa was thoroughly impressed. All the tempos matched, they were kept in the relative key, but most of all, it created room a melody to be added.

Halfway through, Luisa recalled lyrics from a song she knew that fit perfectly with the bass line and began to sing quietly. “C’est un S.O.S. Je suis touchée, je suis à terre. Entends-tu ma détresse? Y a-t-il quelqu’un? Je sens que je me perds.” Beca heard the light soprano and looked to Luisa. She paused the loop to ask, “You can sing? In French?” Luisa laughed a bit because she had never been asked such a ridiculous question in the nine years of her life. She nodded her head at the brunette, but she kept laughing at Beca’s shocked expression. “Ja, Maus. I can sing in French. I can also speak French, German, Danish, English, and . . . Spanish,” Luisa finished, remembering all the languages she spoke. She was currently being taught Portuguese and she was excelling because of her knowledge of five other languages. Beca’s jaw dropped to the floor and she whispered, “Can you teach me one?” The idea of music had gone completely over their heads as the thought of being able to communicate in a language neither one of their parents understood filled their minds. “Sure, Maus. Which one?” Beca didn’t care as long as she could brag about something. She rethought over the languages Luisa knew and she chose Danish. The blonde went through her vocabulary and started with the basics. “Yes is Ja. No is Nej.” The brunette repeated the phrase simply, lacking the proper accent.

“Girl is Pige. Boy is Dreng.” Beca repeated the phrase and followed the blonde through the very basics of the language. She learned how to say, “I am a girl,” (Jeg er en pige), “I can speak Danish,” (Jeg kan snakke dansk), and “I love you” (Jeg elsker dig). By the time Luisa had to go, they had broke down the barrier they had between them and the opportunity for a friendship sparked. The two girls headed downstairs while Beca yelled, “Hey, Mom! Can I walk Luisa home?” Her mother responded in the affirmative and the two were out the door soon after. All the way, the two were talking about little things like music and languages, but one question stuck out in both of their minds. They climbed the stairs to Luisa’s front porch and stood awkwardly in front of the door. Luisa was the first to speak. “So, Beca. I just wanted to say I’m sorry for the way I treated you last week. I didn’t know you enough to judge you the way I did. I hope you can forgive me.” The girl was looking down at the space between them and didn’t raise her gaze until Beca stepped closer and told her, “It’s alright Luisa. I guess I should’ve known you would tease me about my height. All the other kids do it too so it’s not like you’re the first one.” Luisa felt worse now that she knew what teasing Beca went through and internally scolded herself for it.

“I guess I shouldn’t call you Maus, then?” she whispered, pursing her lips. Beca didn’t see the situation the way Luisa did because she wouldn’t have stepped closer to Luisa and hugged the girl around the waist otherwise. Luisa eventually returned the hug and snuggled her head on top of Beca’s, which was buried in the taller girl’s flat chest. “You can call me whatever you want,” Beca offered. Luisa smiled and whispered, “Alright, Maus.” The door opened and Kristen appeared in the doorway with a surprised expression. “Det virkede bedre end jeg havde antaget!”


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warning: I nearly cried writing this.

Weeks passed and the two children became inseparable. Wherever one went, the other had to go, which caused a lot of trips to the grocery store for the two of them. While on these grocery runs, Luisa always got one of the “Customer In Training” carts and had Beca ride in it because she was small enough. Beca enjoyed it because it meant she didn’t have to walk and Luisa enjoyed it because she got to treat Beca like a child as if they weren’t the same age. Just to be funny, when they checked out, Luisa tried to hoist Beca onto the scanner or conveyer belt, but it only worked once. Kristen was with them and, having a despicable side to her, she helped get Beca onto the scanner. What made it funnier was the fact that Beca was actually scanned and came out to about $3.99. She was really self-deprecating after that. Though no matter what Beca said, Luisa always told her, “You’ll always be priceless to me, Maus.” Then, on the drive home, Beca somehow fell asleep in Luisa’s lap and the blonde simply held her as she slept across the backseat. The German child never watched anything else besides Beca’s slumber. She brushed the hairs out of the smaller child’s face and even kissed the back of her hand once. Kristen noticed her child’s intent staring and asked, “What is it, Søde?”

Luisa looked up at her mother, then back at Beca, and told her, “I . . . don’t know. I like Beca, but it’s more than that now . . . and I don’t want to lose her for it.”

********

Since the afternoon was bright and warm, the two families went to the park to play. The adults sat on the benches while the two children entertained themselves on the playground, especially the merry-go-round. The two got so dizzy on the play object that they both fell down next to each other when they got off. They laughed obviously, but when they got up, they shared a long stare where they most typically communicated. Their tendency to hold hands and stare at each other for extended periods of time started a running joke between their parents. “The two are going to grow up and fall in love,” the Germans teased, earning a scolding look from the blonde child. “They already are in love! Don’t you see it? It’s written on their faces,” the Americans answered, getting an embarrassed look from Beca. The chitlins looked at each other once more before the brunette touched the blonde’s shoulder and shouted, “You’re it!” She began to run away off into the large field of grass and random bunches of violets that were next to the playground. She got about halfway into the field before she was out of breath and slowed down. Luisa was so bent on getting Beca that she didn’t care that smaller girl stopped and tackled her behind a bush of violets. The brunette let out a little yelp as she felt her friend land on top of her and not release her. She squirmed to lay on her back, but only got her arms pinned to the ground.

Luisa laughed at the girl’s attempts to get away while Beca pleaded, “Luisa, get off me!” The smiles on their faces conveyed the joy they only got when they were near each other and Luisa seemed to be the only one to pick up on that fact. She loosened her grip on Beca’s wrists and just beamed at the smaller girl. The brunette noticed the change from mischievous to genuine and reflected the change by moving her wrists enough to capture Luisa’s hands in hers, lacing their fingers together. They rested there minute, simply admiring each other, and considered their feelings. Luisa felt a lightness in her chest she couldn’t explain and her heartbeat seemed to beat faster and faster the longer she looked at Beca. She thought she still liked Beca as a friend, but from what her mother told her, she might’ve been in love. On the other hand, Beca was emotionally inarticulate and couldn’t properly explain to her mother what she was feeling. All she could get right was that it only happened with Luisa and no one else at school and the fact she got frustrated when she couldn’t defend Luisa against other kids. It wasn’t like Luisa needed protection from other kids, it was just the defensive feeling Beca got when Luisa was in trouble. Since Sarah didn’t have much to go off of, she simply told the brunette that her feelings were typical of best friends and nothing more, which placed Beca in an awkward position at the moment.

“Have you ever kissed anybody before?” Luisa questioned, her lips pursing. Beca’s eyes widened at the sudden query and thought about the answer. She hadn’t really kissed anyone outside of her family because she saw no point to it. Considering she was still a child, her ideals were still in that phase where everything is based on a system of basic emotions. Disgust, joy, sadness, anger, fear, love, and hate controlled the mindset of children, but sometimes curiosity crawled in for a while. That’s what this was. Complete curiosity between two young girls. Luisa dismounted Beca and sat up so they were hidden from view from their parents. Beca did likewise and looked at her friend apprehensively. “Do you want to find out? Because I haven’t . . . “ the blonde trailed off, glancing down at the brunette’s lips. The smaller girl moved closer and glanced down at her best friend’s lips before responding, “Sure. I mean, I don’t know how, but I guess we could find out together?”

“Alright, then.” The two children moved closer until they were barely separated and sitting next to each other with less than a few inches between their lips. The first kiss was a simple touch of the lips with their eyes open, then they imitated what they had seen in movies. Their eyes closed and their kisses became real. Their hearts pounded out of their chest at the feeling of each other’s lips, but they did what came naturally. Luisa reached over to hold Beca’s tiny waist with one hand while Beca brought hers up to cradle Luisa’s fat cheek. They kissed a few more times and pulled away, smiling unconsciously. “You know, you’re really adorable,” the blonde whispered, reaching up to brush loose hair behind her companion’s ear. The brunette reciprocated the gesture and told her, “You know, you’re not a bad kisser.” The two chuckled at the brief compliments before Luisa pulled away and plucked two flowers from the violet bush in front of them. She handed them to Beca and said, “Someday, when we’re all grown up, I’m going to take you on a date. A proper date. We’ll go dancing, have dinner, you know, one of those dates in the movies.” The brunette smiled wider, laid one flower on the ground, and slid the other one overtop Luisa’s ear as she had seen typical in Hawaii. She had the blonde to the same to her as she requested, “Promise me.” The German girl leaned in and kissed her friend sweetly to tell her, “I promise.”

The two stared into each other’s eyes as they pressed their foreheads together and mingled their fingers together. They were caught in a childish trance of childish ideals and childish lust and the only thing to bring them out of the trance was the abrupt screaming of, “What is going on here?!” The girls snapped their heads to the source to see their fathers standing in front of them, one with an angered expression. Dr. Mitchell was furious with what he saw, which was one innocent kiss, and more furious with the blonde girl for it. It was ironic how he earlier joked about the two girls falling in love, yet here he was, scolding the two for acting upon that joke. Truthfully, he only thought the joke had no serious context behind it, unlike his German companions, and he was going to make that very clear. “Beca! Get away from her, now!” he yelled, seeing his daughter holding hands with her friend. 

“Is that really necessary? They were only kissing!” Friedrich shouted, getting defensive.

“Yes! I don’t want my child exposed to this  _ thing _ before she’s old enough to decide for herself!” The child backed away and so did the blonde, but the angered father scooped her off the ground and over his shoulder instantly. “Dad, no!” Beca protested, slamming her fists into his back as he walked away. The blonde was left kneeling in the grass with the remembrance of the brunette’s warmth on her skin and the brunette’s gentle kiss on her lips. Not wanting to lose her friend, Luisa stood up and ran after Dr. Mitchell, who still had Beca over his shoulder. “No! Stop!” she screamed, catching up pretty quickly. She almost reached them when she was picked up by her own father and carried side by side with Beca. The mothers, who were sitting on the benches, saw the situation and were immediately to their respective husbands. “What happened?” Sarah asked, concerned that one of them got hurt.

“They kissed once and Mr. Homophobe over here freaked out!” Friedrich explained, turning to Dr. Mitchell. Both mothers were confused and needed an explanation from the girls to fully understand. “Girls! What happened?” Sarah commanded, ordering the daughters off the shoulders of their fathers. The girls were set down in front of the four parents and they looked at each other before down at their feet. “Well, we were playing tag and . . . um . . . “ Beca began, cautiously looking up at her parents.

“And . . . ?” Dr. Mitchell pressed.

“We got curious and so we kissed a few times,” Luisa finished, looking at all the adults.

“See? Nothing more than a few kisses. And he’s freaking out like they—” Luisa’s father yelled, getting cut off.

“Alright, Friedrich! That’s enough! Now, I say we go home and sort this out there, seeing as we’re in a public park!” Kristen pointed out, silencing everyone else. They all agreed and collected their own daughters before going home to hash everything out. Both girls feared they’d never be able to play together again and couldn’t understand why their innocent act was being viewed as the worst atrocity to ever happen to them. Their fate was dependent on the argument the parents were to have. They just never expected it to end the way it did.

********

The decision was made and another few lonely weeks later, Beca and Luisa were standing in front of each other in the same place they had first met. The four adults (mainly Dr. Mitchell and Friedrich) thought it best to separate the girls completely so they had no chance of seeing each other in school. That was why the two girls stood in front of each other at that moment for their final goodbye before Luisa and her family went back to Germany. Both had tears in their eyes because all they could think was that this was the end of their friendship. That they weren’t ever going to see each other ever again. They had already hugged each other enough times to last a lifetime, but it still wasn’t enough. Beca jumped up and held Luisa around the neck while the blonde held her friend around the waist. They held on at this point not for the sake of themselves, but for their hearts. They feared that if they let go, they’d fall apart instantly. When Luisa had let Beca stand on her own again, both were full-blown crying. The brunette tried to say something, but all she could do was cry. Luisa held the smaller girl’s face in her hands, brushing away the tears and damp hair, and told her, “Calm down, Maus. There’s no need to cry. I’ll only be gone for a while. When I get back, it’ll be like I never left.” At this, Beca cried harder and clung to Luisa like she was the only thing she had.

The brunette buried her face in the blonde’s chest as she cried her eyes out and the blonde held her tenaciously. Luisa was crying too and nestled her cheek into the top of Beca’s head. “Jeg vil savne dig, min små mus,” she whispered, lightly kissing the crown of her friend’s head.

“Jeg vil savne dig mere, min stor kat.” Luisa pulled Beca out of her chest and looked her in the eyes to promise, “Jeg vil finde dig efter mange år og jeg vil elske dig intil jeg kan ikke.” Beca nodded her understanding before hugging Luisa again, wishing this had never happened. They separated and shared one final kiss as Luisa was essentially dragged away by her father, who although touched by the scene, couldn’t stand Dr. Mitchell’s homophobia. The door shut behind them and Beca was approached by her mother. The young brunette turned around and cried into her mother’s legs that she wrapped her arms around quickly to prevent her falling. “Why, Mom? Why did she have to go?” the child pleaded, pulling at the hem of Sarah’s shirt. The woman caressed her daughter’s head before looking to her husband and answering stolidly, “I could tell you, but you wouldn’t understand until you’re older.” Sarah was furious with Dr. Mitchell for what he did, but she was even more furious with him for causing this anguish in their daughter. “But whatever you do, don’t ever let go of her. If she really means this much to you, don’t let her go,” Sarah advised, tears stinging her own eyes. Because of that, Beca got an idea and turned around to sprint out of the house.

She jumped off the porch and ran through the yard to see Luisa’s car pulling out of the driveway. “Luisa, wait!” she screamed, more tears running down her face. The blonde heard her name and turned around to see Beca fall to her knees in the front yard. Luisa cried again, pressed her hand to the glass of the back windshield, and whispered, “Jeg elsker dig, Små Mus.” Once they were out of sight, Luisa slumped back into her seat and curled up into a ball to cry more. Beca cried and screamed in the front yard as she tore at grass to cope with her loss. It was that moment that she knew what she felt when she first kissed Luisa. She loved the blonde and now that she was gone, the brunette couldn’t tell her. Dr. Mitchell tried to get Beca inside by picking her up by the arm, but she whirled around and shrieked, “No, Dad! I hate you! How could you let Luisa be taken away?!” The girl ripped her arm from her father’s grip in anger before she began to run away in the opposite direction Luisa went. She didn’t know where she was to go, but she just wanted to get away. “Beca! Get back here!” he yelled, demanding his daughter back. Sarah simply crossed her arms over her chest as she stepped onto the porch and told him, “Let her go. It’s Beca. She’ll come back eventually.”

********

Soon enough, Beca had run all the way to the playground and landed in the field she and Luisa played in. She laid on her stomach while she wailed into the ground and ripped up the grass. She was broken and she wasn’t going to be fixed without Luisa. Little did she know, this event was only the first of several disappointing and heartbreaking experiences she’d live through before she ever got to see Luisa again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> Jeg vil savne dig, min små mus - I will miss you, my Small Mouse
> 
> Jeg vil savne dig mere, min stor kat - I will miss you more, my Big Cat
> 
> Jeg vil finde dig efter mange år og jeg vil elske dig intil jeg kan ikke - I will find you after many years and I will love you until I can't.
> 
> Jeg elsker dig, Små Mus - I love you, Small Mouse.


	3. Chapter 3

Years went by, and the two friends began to lead two different lives. When Luisa went back to Germany, she never forgot Beca or her promise to the other girl. She got involved with a number of activities with the idea she could go to an American college, but to her surprise, her parents told her they were moving back to Atlanta, just not in the same place. Her face lit up at the thought of being able to see Beca again, who had the opposite of Luisa. After the blonde left, Beca had fallen into a hole of depression and anxiety. She pulled away from most people, and the ones she did let in hurt her so badly she considered suicide a number of times. Then, her parents divorced because they couldn’t agree on the way to raise her. Dr. Mitchell had a direct approach to everything while Sarah had an indirect approach. These were caused by the knowledge of Beca’s conditions. Sarah knew all about her daughter’s depression, anxiety, suicidal thoughts, and even her suicidal actions, which provoked her to take Beca out every Wednesday night at eight in the evening for a “girls’ night”. For a while, the “girls’ nights” really helped Beca and she got the help she needed, but once her father questioned the need for them every week, they had to be reduced to bi-monthly before they basically ceased to exist entirely. Because of this, the tiny thighs of the brunette continued to get bloody lines as if she hadn’t ever received any form of help.

Sarah fought desperately in court for custody rights, even used the argument that Beca was mentally ill and only ever confided in her (which was quite true), but in the end, Dr. Mitchell was given custody on the assumption that he’d give treatment to his daughter. She wasn’t even allowed visiting rights. So her leaving took a toll on the already downtrodden Beca and created a divide between her and her father. They argued a lot of the time, mainly over the brunette’s life choices, and Beca made it a habit of hers to keep secrets from her father in an attempt to keep from having these fights. The biggest secret she kept from him was her sexuality. She identified as bisexual and only knew because she had an interest in this guy at school, but knew in the back of her mind, her first kiss was with a girl she once loved. Her memories of her childhood friend had faded after so many years of mental abuse from not only her father but from herself. She wasn’t the Beca that Luisa once knew and this much was obvious as the blonde walked into the chemistry class she was assigned and glanced over the rest of the students. Back in the fourth row, all by herself, sat Beca with heavy eyeliner, many piercings, and skinny jeans on. Luisa recognized her immediately despite the extenuating circumstances, but Beca didn’t so much as give her a first glance. The brunette simply continued to stare out the window complacently like she hadn’t a single care about the blonde at the front of the room.

The teacher didn’t bother introducing her and told her to choose an empty seat. Seeing nowhere else desirable a place to speak to Beca, Luisa chose the open seat next to her old friend. The teacher went to start class and Beca suddenly turned to Luisa. “Hey, yeah, I’m Beca and just so you know I’m a terrible partner and I don’t understand half of what he says so don’t expect to get a good grade in this class.” All Luisa could do was smile and beam at the other girl. She remembered how awkward Beca had been years before and she seemed to have gotten more awkward. She found it adorable. In another second, the smaller girl was turned back to the front of the class and staring out the window as if she hadn’t said anything. Luisa was going to introduce herself, but she saw Beca’s aversion to speaking so she left it there. Throughout the rest of the class, the blonde couldn’t stop herself from wondering what happened to her friend that made her so . . . isolated. She noticed the heavy eye makeup, the piercings, and the skinny jeans in eighty degree weather only to realize this wasn’t the girl she met so many years ago. The girl in front of her had been broken badly and while everyone seemed to make an attempt to help her, no one ever truly got through to her. Since this perceptiveness caused Luisa to just stare at Beca’s profile, the brunette obviously saw it and was creeped out.

She glanced over a few times to see the same look on her partner’s face: sympathy. Nobody ever showed her sympathy except her mother, but she was gone now so that didn’t matter. Regardless, Beca found the gawking extremely uncomfortable because it made her seem like all her scars were showing and she unconsciously tucked her legs further under the table to help her cope with the blonde’s staring. She couldn’t understand why her partner would be watching her for so long, but she didn’t say anything as she packed up her belongings to leave for her next class. Luisa just lightly gasped and then tore a sheet of paper out of her notebook to scribble a little note onto it. She wasn’t going to give it to Beca directly, but she had to find a way to get it to her before the end of the day. The idea struck her during lunch when she saw Beca hanging out with Chloe, who was in her Russian class. So once she had Russian, she gave the note to Chloe and asked her to give it to Beca before the end of the day. Knowing Luisa was truly a nice person and meant no malice in any way, Chloe agreed and delivered the note steadfastly to her friend. The blonde thanked the ginger greatly before running all the way home and throwing open the door dramatically. Her mother, Kristen, was sitting at her sewing table with her glasses toward the tip of her nose and she stopped her mending to look at her out of breath daughter. “Where’s my super suit?” was all the young blonde asked.

********

“Meet me at the park at 7. What’s is this about?”

“I don’t know. I guess you’ll have to go and find out for yourself.”

“Who did you get this from in the first place?”

“Someone told me to give it to you. I don’t know who.”

“Whatever. I’ll go to see what this is about and to at least get out of the house.”

“Right because you can’t keep staying at my house.”

********

Come 6:45, Beca was walking to the park closest to her house, which was the one with the large open field. The sun was setting and the auburn sky helped calm her nerves over what she was doing. She had no idea who the note was from, though she had her suspicions, and she didn’t know what was going to happen. Little did she know, Luisa was waiting for her at the park with an entire picnic dinner laid out, music playing from a small stereo Kristen let her borrow, and her beating heart that still beat for the other girl. Luisa wore a black blazer, black skinny jeans, and a silk tie from her father, who helped her with her plight. She was so nervous that Beca would see her and run away that she had to chug a glass of champagne to help her calm down. The brunette got closer to the park and began to hear the echoes of soft music coming from the open field. Now, she was curious. She picked up her pace a bit and turned the corner to see in the distance a small area surrounded by bushes of violets with the song, “A Thousand Years” playing quietly in the background. The area was lit by lanterns Luisa and her father set up just in case the sky got too dark and revealed the brunette’s secret prince charming. She still couldn’t make out who the person was, but she continued to walk toward the romantic scene no matter what her gut was telling her. Her heart was telling her to keep going and find her admirer and that’s all that mattered now.

She was less than fifteen feet from the blanket when she saw the tall blonde in a suit. The brunette couldn’t see the face because the blonde’s back was turned, but she had a feeling she knew who it was, and the feeling was rooted in love from previous years. As if sensing the presence of her companion, Luisa turned around with a single violet in her fingers and looked to the smaller girl with a bright look in her eyes that was warm and inviting. Beca froze in her place as she recognized her science partner and gasped slightly. She had only known this person for a day and suddenly they were in love with her? Not possible. The suited girl stepped forward to greet Beca, “Hallo, Beca. Or should I call you Maus?” The smaller girl was weirded out because only one person in her life had ever called her that and they were supposed to be in Germany. Yet, the brunette stepped closer to the other girl. She was drawn to Luisa like something was pulling their hearts together and she couldn’t stop it. Instead of saying anything, Beca just stood there, looking for an explanation to what all this was. Luisa smiled widely and reached up to brush some hair behind Beca’s ear before she place the flower in her hand in the same spot and cupping Beca’s cheek. “I made a promise to you years ago that I’d take you on a date. Well, Mus. Din kat er tilbage efter så mange år.”

Her language skills having been reduced to limited German and Danish, Beca only understood the words, “Well, Mouse. Your cat,” but it was enough for her to recall every memory from her childhood. Luisa stared into her eyes sweetly as she mentally conveyed all the memories of the two of them playing in this very field and sharing that first kiss that lasted a lifetime. Tears welled in the brunette’s eyes and she whispered, “Luisa? Is it you after all this time?” A simple nod did the trick and Beca was clinging to Luisa the way she did when she left. She cried her eyes out at the realization that she had a friend again and someone to talk to. Since her mother was forced out of her life, she didn’t have anyone to open up to, which made everything else more difficult to deal with. All the old emotions came back in a rush and Beca cried more out of nostalgia than of love. Everything had been wrong when Luisa wasn’t with her and she just wished they were kids again so they didn’t have to deal with what happened over the years, but she knew that wasn’t possible, especially not with what she did to herself. There was no taking that back. She dried her eyes enough to look at Luisa fully without dying again and took in the aged figure of her childhood friend. “You’ve grown . . . a  _ lot _ ,” Beca complimented, noticing the complete figure of a woman. Luisa looked over Beca and told her, “You haven’t. Still the adorable little Maus I knew.”

The brunette smiled at the comment, but in the back of her mind, she knew that once she told Luisa of her scars, there was no way the statement would be true. Luisa motioned for her to sit down on the blanket as she pulled out two glasses and a bottle of champagne for the two of them. The smaller girl graciously sat down purposefully close to her friend with little to no room between them because she felt her love spark again and wanted to enjoy this moment for all it was worth. She could feel Luisa’s warmth radiate from her even in the chilly air and she wished she could once again kiss those lips which had gained their fullness over the years. While Luisa talked about how much she missed Beca, the brunette was caught up in the way the woman’s lips curled and undulated. The light pink, delicately soft, and full lips that moved a mile a minute entranced Beca and seemingly took over her right mind. Her mind was clouded by love and the desire to tell Luisa the thing she didn’t get to years ago that she barely responded when Luisa asked, “Do you want some food, Maus?” All that came out was an indistinguishable whimper. Beca snapped to attention when a small strawberry was shoved into her mouth and she was forced to chew or else she’d choke. “What was that for?” the brunette asked, surprised. Luisa chuckled and picked up another strawberry from the container between them before popping it in her mouth. “You wouldn’t pay attention! What else was I supposed to do?”

“Maybe give me a heads up before you shove a strawberry in my m—” The blonde had shoved another strawberry in Beca’s mouth, which earned her one in her mouth. The two finished chewing their individual fruits and laughed their heads off for a few moments with the impending question creating a light tension between them. The German looked at her love and saw the line of juice running down the slender woman’s chin and neck. She leaned over, held the face still, and told her, “You got a bit something here.” She proceeded to drag her soft lips up the column of Beca’s neck and didn’t stop until she got to the other’s lips where one was drawn under a little line of teeth in arousal. Less than an inch away, they could feel the desire to kiss again, but their true emotions got in the way of kissing in a way that wasn’t awkward. Suddenly, Luisa was off the ground and holding her hand out to Beca, who took it. They stood with both hands in each other’s and gazed at each other lovingly like they used to do. “May I have this dance, sweet Maus?”

“Only if you hold me close.” Luisa wrapped her arm around Beca’s waist and led her to an open patch of grass near the stereo to begin the slow dance. She pulled the small woman up against her and held her with the tenacity that told Beca she was safe in Luisa’s arms. The brunette held the blonde’s other hand and shoulder as she laid her head gently on her best friend’s chest and allowed herself to be carried away by the light swaying and warm body. The song was “Breathe Me” the version by Jasmine Thompson and the lyrics spoke to her like nothing else. Hearing the lyrics reminded her of how she felt without Luisa and how she needed to tell Luisa soon or else she might never. She lifted her head from the warm chest, removed her hand from the shoulder, and placed it on the side of Luisa’s face, to which the blonde leaned into. “Do you . . . do you ever think about that day? The day you left?” Beca asked, choking up due to tears. Luisa turned her head to press a kiss to Beca’s palm before holding the smaller woman with both arms. “Almost everyday. How could I forget the day I nearly lost my love forever?” Beca was shocked by the term of love, but she couldn’t deny how her heart beat faster at the sound of it. “So . . . y-you love me?” The question was a bit obvious, but she needed it answered for her sake.

“Ja, Maus. Jeg har elsket dig for mange år nu.” The brunette almost went limp in Luisa’s arms, yet she managed to catch herself before. She held the blonde’s face in her hands as she looked her straight in the eyes and responded, “Jeg elsker dig mere, min stor kat.” Then they kissed each other impatiently with a burning passion. The only difference from this kiss and their other ones was the fact that this was real. This had real passion behind it, real emotion, real love. Everything they had felt for each other years ago came undone in a single touch of the lips and they knew that this was how it ought to be.

********

Luisa and Beca burst through the front door of the Meyer house with everything still in the trunk of the car Luisa drove. The smaller woman was wrapped in the blanket they used and in the taller one’s arms while the taller’s tie was undone and a great big smile was across her face. “So I’m assuming the date went well?” Kristen asked, looking up from her book. To answer that question, Beca took Luisa’s face in her hands and placed a loving kiss on her soft lips. They didn’t need to say a thing before Friedrich piped in, “Tie on the door please!” and they went upstairs. Luisa opened her door and threw Beca onto the bed. She removed her tie and tossed it over the door to indicate what they were doing. She got back to Beca, quickly dominated the girl, and they began their desperate attempts to undress each other. The smaller girl’s nimble fingers were helpful in undoing the small buttons on the dress shirt when the blonde insisted on leaving a hickey on her neck. Soon enough, Luisa was half naked and Beca was getting there. All that was left were her pants and once Luisa went to unbutton them, the brunette protested. “Wait a second, Luisa.”

“What is it?” the blonde asked, raising her head from the bottom of her girlfriend’s stomach. She looked up to see legitimate concern on the brunette’s face that naturally concerned her too. The German crawled back up the small body and laid herself over top as she held the accompanying waist. Knowing she couldn’t make anything more awkward, the tiny American wrapped her arms around the other woman’s neck and kissed her once or twice. “There’s something I haven’t told you yet and I want you to know before we . . . you know.”

“What Maus? You know you can tell me anything.” Luisa kissed Beca again as her girlfriend explained what she needed to. “Alright, so after you left . . . I didn’t take it too well and neither did my parents. They fought over which way was right and which was wrong while I became more depressed everyday you weren’t here.” The blonde’s eyebrows furrowed in worry, but she continued to listen. “Often times I thought I was better off dead if I couldn’t have you. But I told my mom and she got me help. Then my dad found out he pulled me out of therapy because he insisted there was nothing wrong with me. That’s when my parents divorced and my dad got custody.” Luisa didn’t know where Beca was taking this, but when the smaller girl motioned that it was alright to take off her pants, she did so with curious apprehension. “What he didn’t know was I was taking not only my disappointment but his and my mother’s disappointment out on myself.”

The jeans didn’t get halfway down Beca’s thighs before Luisa gasped in shock. Up and down the pale thighs were old scars from self-harm. With warm hands in her waistband, the brunette cried little bits at a time while the blonde pulled the rest of her skinny jeans off to see all her scars. She didn’t want to see the horrified look on the woman’s face so she covered her face with her hands and recoiled away from the warm body. The German sat up on her knees to see the love of her life bawling her eyes out in a ball. She tried to reach out to touch Beca’s leg, but the small girl shrunk back further into herself. “You don’t need to tell me. It’s hideous.  _ I’m _ hideous. I don’t know why I’m still here anyway,” the brunette said, leaning more into the cinnamon scent of Luisa’s sheets. The blonde wanted to cry hard at what she heard, but she wanted to console the girl more. Cautiously, she reached out and pulled her girlfriend into her lap, nestling the girl’s head into her chest. “Listen to me Beca,” Luisa started, tears running down her face, “You are not hideous. You are the most beautiful person I’ve ever met and I don’t care if I have to tell you that everyday, you need to know that I’ll love you no matter what. I know that years ago when we were just kids, we couldn’t imagine that this would happen, but that doesn’t change anything. I love you, Beca and I will do whatever it takes to help you because I’m here now and I always will be.”

Beca peeked her head out of Luisa’s chest to kiss her passionately and press their foreheads together. “I love you too, Luisa. I know I wish the past years had turned out differently, but we’re not kids anymore, Luisa. Everything comes with a price now. The price I pay is bearing these scars for everyone to see so I don’t cost much.” Luisa kissed Beca again, taking her time to thoroughly convey her love for the smaller girl. Then she laid down with her girlfriend in her arms, dried their eyes, and smiled as she repeated, “You’ll always be priceless to me, Maus.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Translations:
> 
> Well, Mus. Din kat er tilbage efter så mange år - Well, Mouse. Your cat is back after so many years.
> 
> Jeg har elsket dig for mange år nu - I have loved you for many years now.
> 
> Jeg elsker dig mere, min stor kat - I love you more, my big cat.

**Author's Note:**

> The song Luisa sings: "S.O.S." By Indila
> 
> Song Translation:
> 
> C’est un S.O.S. Je suis touchée, je suis à terre. Entends-tu ma détresse? Y a-t-il quelqu’un? Je sens que je me perds. - This is an S.O.S. I touched, I am on earth. Do you hear my distress? Is there anyone? I feel that I lose myself.
> 
> Translations:
> 
> Friedrich, stop! Hun behøver ikke at lege med Beca hvis hun ønsker ikke. - Friedrich, stop! She doesn't have to play with Beca if she doesn't want to.
> 
> Hvorfor ønsker du ikke at lege med Beca? - Why don't you want to play with Beca?
> 
> Jeg vil tale dig hvad. Du går og leger med Beca og jeg vil tage dig ude for nogle silk. - I will tell you what. You go and play with Beca and I will take you out for some candy.
> 
> Kan det være chokolade? - Can it be chocolate?
> 
> Ja, min søde. - Yes, my sweetie.
> 
> Det virkede bedre end jeg havde antaget! - That worked better than I assumed!


End file.
